Rafael’s and Akilah’s Story: An African American New Adult Urban Romance

After fleeing Miami for a new start, Akilah was the last thing I needed.

She was everything I avoided in the past with girls. Opinionated. Assertive. Shrewd. Too curious for her own good. Bold. Daring. The type you didn’t want involved when you were running and had something to hide.

I fell for her anyway.

There are a lot of big reasons that I shouldn’t be with Akilah. There are a lot of big reasons why I can’t be with her.

But shouldn’t and can’t aren’t in her vocabulary. And there are a lot of other reasons, little things really, that I should be with her that outweigh the big things.

But when my past, my abuser, the reason I lived on the streets for three years, the reason I can never go back home, the biggest reason I shouldn’t get involved with Akilah, comes knocking on the door, I have a choice to make.

Today is another of my favorite days – National Ice Cream Day! Today I can celebrate with wild abandon and no guilt—not that I ever feel guilty when eating ice cream, but today I can say, “Hey! I’m celebrating here!” That will calm the masses for all of ten seconds after which, they’ll expect me to share! Aw, man!

Enjoy your favorite ice cream today – no excuses! With dairy free, gluten free, sugar-free, and dye free ice creams available, no one need miss out. Of course, I prefer my ice cream homemade… and pistachio, but offer me store-bought any flavor and see if I turn it down! (Which will only happen if pumpkin or marshmallow are involved! Ew!)

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

National Ice Cream Day is observed each year on the 3rd Sunday in July and is a part of National Ice Cream Month. This day is a fun celebration enjoyed with a bowl, cup or cone filled with your favorite flavor of ice cream.

Thousands of years ago, people in the Persian Empire would put snow in a bowl, pour grape-juice concentrate over it and eat it as a treat. They did this when the weather was hot and used the snow saved in the cool-keeping underground chambers known as “yakhchal”, or taken from the snowfall that remained at the top of mountains by the summer capital.

It is believed that ice cream was first introduced into the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them. Their ice cream was sold at shops in New York and other cities during the colonial era.

Whatever it takes: the motto of “The Agency.” It doesn’t exist–not legally speaking. However its effect in the lives of those who benefit from their aid is incalculable. Lives saved, restored, guarded–protected from the side of life most never see. Their clients are usually wealthy, important–desperate. Their other clients–well, they don’t always appreciate the efforts expended on their behalf–not until they aren’t lying on a slab in the morgue.

Justified Means~

Erika Polowski, in grave danger–danger she has no idea exists–finds herself captive, shackled, bound, gagged. Her captors have the most unbelievable story, yet as the enemy manages, time after time, to get too close, she has to decide who or what to trust. Can she believe the man who daily holds her at gunpoint? Does she trust her gut? She is certain that she knows nothing that could possibly matter to anyone–has done nothing that should put her in danger.

For Keith Auger, it’s just another assignment. Extract the client, protect the client, return the client to her life with minimal interruption. Except that this “client” isn’t so keen on being protected. His usual cheerful demeanor disappeared the night he helped her escape from her home–escape with the aid of duct tape, rope, and the dark of night.

His faith seems incongruous with his job. Her feisty personality might just keep her alive–if he can’t. How long can they stay one step ahead of their pursuers? How long can he protect her when every move they make seems only half a step behind those who want Erika dead. Why can’t they get a break?

The only answer is the one thing that he fears most. Is there a mole within The Agency?

Our muscles are at the core of fibromyalgia issues, and because of that, our muscles are where we are going to notice the majority of our issues. Controlling our fibromyalgia is based on a lot of factors, but many of them are related to the muscles that are most affected by the disease.

Muscle twitching is one of the most common symptoms of fibromyalgia, and it’s important to deal with it quickly. In this article, we’re going to look at why muscle twitching is such a common issue with fibromyalgia, and how you can cope with it in a manner that allows you to continue to live your life.

Why Does Muscle Twitching Happen with Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a disorder where our body is constantly in pain. At this point in time, there isn’t really a single known cause of the disorder, and because of that, it’s often hard to treat. Many times, professionals are just dealing with the symptoms and trying to make it as simple as possible for the person suffering from the disorder to live a normal life – or as normal as they possibly can.

Muscle twitching is just one of many symptoms that may end up occurring in people who are suffering from fibromyalgia. What is a muscle twitch? In short, it’s when the nerves in your body (usually in muscles) start to work without you telling them to.

They shoot off signals and move without you prompting them to. Many people know about the twitch in their eyelids or in their fingers, but they can be a lot worse in those with fibromyalgia. But why do they happen?

Under these conditions, our bodies will start to be tense and they won’t act as they should, thus making it difficult for us to control what is going on with our bodies. We may tremble or twitch, even though we didn’t tell our body to do any of those things.

Anxiety will often make people tremble or twitch, even if they can’t sense the mental part of their anxiety, their body may still react with twitches and trembles. Either way, it can be a bit disconcerting.

Another reason is that of an injury or because of tension in the muscle itself. Injuries can make it so that the nerves don’t fire as they should, and tension makes it so that your nerves may be strained or pinched.

In either of those cases, it’s likely that our bodies will shake and/or twitch, and we won’t really be able to do much about it. It can be scary and sometimes cause frustration, but it’s quite common and not something that you necessarily have to be afraid of if it happens to you or a loved one who deals with fibromyalgia.

How Can We Deal with and/or Prevent Muscle Twitching?

As with anything else, we can deal with muscle twitching (and in some cases, we can even prevent it). Your specialist is the only one who can actually give you a full plan as to how you want to go about it, but here are some suggestions that you can use in order to help prevent and/or deal with muscle twitching that is related to fibromyalgia.

It sounds simple, but staying active can actually play a huge role in preventing muscle twitches as a result of fibromyalgia. If you are exercising (which, even though it can be difficult with fibromyalgia pain, you want to try and do at least semi-regularly), then you are stretching your muscles and making them less tense. Even just doing stretches around the house can really help limber you up.

It will also make it easier for you to move around. Remember – some movement is better than no movement at all, so even a little bit can end up helping you feel a lot better and can help to reduce the spasms and twitching of your muscles. Go and take a walk around the block, or just use the muscle that is causing you the issues – sometimes, just using the muscle is enough to help it work correctly and to turn off the “misfiring” that is going on in your body.

Even if you have fibromyalgia, some muscle twitches could be signs of bigger problems in your body. There are a few reasons that you may want to call a professional and get help if you’re having a muscle twitch that is out of the ordinary.

If you can’t move a part of your body because of the twitch, if you start to feel dizzy or sick, and/or you are in so much pain that moving your body (or at least, the area that is affected) is out of the question. In those cases, you will want to go to the hospital and get treated – there could be some bigger issues going on.

If the twitching is severe and making it difficult to function, your doctor may end up prescribing medications for you. Some of them are muscle relaxers, others are anti-spasmodic medications. It depends on what your doctor believes is causing the muscle twitching in the first place. They may also send you to a physical therapist and/or give you electrical therapy, depending on where the spasm is located and if the technologies and/or techniques have been proven to help your specific area of issue.

Muscle twitching is, unfortunately, a common truth that many people who suffer from fibromyalgia have to deal with. It’s important that we’re not only aware of this issue, but also that we can take care of it when it comes up. If muscle twitching has become an issue for you, talk to your specialist. They can help you with more suggestions and give you a treatment plan that actually addresses the twitching and its severity.

The preceding article is from FibromyalgiaTreating.com and posted here for sharing purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Clean, Christian slice-of-life fiction with romance.
Lila’s Flower shop and wedding business keep her plenty busy. Add in a handsome firefighter and crazy hits the fan.

When Lila’s sister and nephew move back in and a terrible disaster threatens her tiny Texas town, Lila realizes she might not be able to fix everything on her own. Will God send the miracle she needs to help her out of this mess?

Sally is the prettiest girl in town with her gorgeous purple hair. But she wants her hair to grow longer and longer to be prettier and prettier. When is enough?A fun story about vanity, the courage of accepting change and… a first haircut.

MY CRAZY STORIES is a humorous series starring emotionally intelligent kids who are confident about taking decisions leading to maturing and a better understanding of the values and facts of life.

Early learning – Beginner Readers
Pre-School and Age 3-8
Read aloud book for preschoolers or a self-read book for older children.